Door window roller guide assembly



Feb. 4, 1958 R. N. BLAN'roN I-:TAL 2,822,215

DOOR WINDOW ROLLER GUIDE ASSEMBLY Filed July 20, 1954 INVENTORS DOOR WINDOW RQLLER GUIDE ASSEMBLY Russell N. Blanton, Detroit, and Guy L. Tucker, Livonia,

Mich., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application July 20, 1954, Serial No. 444,542

Claims. (Cl. 296-445) This invention relates to a window guide, and more particularly to an automobile door window roller guide.

in most present day automobiles, the door windows are framed by a metallic sash member which slides at the front and rear edges of the window in a glass run channel xedly mounted inside the automobile door. In conventional construction, the glass run channel is lined throughout its length with a pile fabric which spaces the sash member from the channel walls and base to provide for slidable movement of the sash member in the channel without rattling. Due to the fact that the pile fabric mats down after a period of use, the clearance between the sash channel and the fabric in the glass run channel increases and allows the window to move from side to side in its guides.

This invention provides a roller guide means which supports the window without rattling and without permitting excessive sideways movement of the window despite the fact that the depth of the door and the height of the window glass limit the amount of the support area that can be used to guide the window. The guide members are rollers which preferably are formed of a synthetic plastic material, as nylon, so that lubrication is unnecessary for easy and quiet operation. The sash member has an extension projecting into the glass run channel and carrying the rollers, and at least one leaf spring is secured to the sash extension with a portion of the spring being slidable on the base of the channel to space the sash from the base of the channel. A pile fabric lining is attached to the glass run channel adjacent the top thereof to improve the appearance of the assembly and to prevent the sash member from contacting the glass run channel with a direct metal to metal engagement which would rattle. This fabric may extend down for a depth of only about 5/16 of an inch.

The nylon guide rollers are arranged in pairs, the two rollers of each pair being closely adjacent each other and each roller engaging one of the walls of the channel so that there is rolling engagement between the sash extension and the glass run channel without any sliding engagement except for the springs above mentioned.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an inside elevation of an automobile door, portions being broken away to show underlying structure and portions of the window regulator mechanism being shown in broken lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal transverse section taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal transverse section taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, an automobile door has a window 12 which moves vertically frorn the closed position shown in Fig. 1 to an open position wherein the window is housed between the door 2,822,215 Patented Feb. 4, v41958 ceN inner panel 13 and the door outer panel 14, a slot (not shown) being provided between these panels at the belt line to permit passage of the Window into and out of the door.

The window is moved between open and closed position by a conventional regulator mechanism which includes regulator arms 15 and 16 moving in a slot in a regulator bracket 17 secured to the bottom of the window. This mechanism is conventional and is well understood in the art, and therefore, the regulator is shown only fragmentarily in Fig. 1. The operating means may be automatic or manual, Fig. 1 illustrating a hand crank 18 to provide for manual operation.

The window is framed by a channel-shaped sash member 20 which moves in a xedly mounted glass run channel 22 having a base 22a and opposite side walls 22b and 22e. The glass run channel is secured to a reinforcing plate 24 which is bolted to the flock face 26 of the door.

The window sash member 20 has at each end a downwardly projecting extension 28. These extensions and the guide means mounted thereon are identical and only one will be described in detail. On the inside of the channel-shaped sash member extension 28 there is an elongated spacer 30 engaging the base of the member 28 between the opposite arms thereof, and bolted to the outside of the sash member extension 28 there is an elongated mounting plate 32 which is secured by bolts 39 and 35 extending through the plate 32, through the base of the sash extension 28 and through the spacer 30. The bolts are secured by a tee nut 37. j

A plurality of pairs of guide members are rotatably mounted on the sash extension 28 and engage the opposite walls of the glass run channel. Adjacent the top of the extension is one pair of guide members shown at 34; a second pair near the longitudinal center of the sash extension is shown at 36; and a third pair adjacent the bottom end of the sash extension 28 is shown at 38. All of these pairs of guide members are similar and are all mounted in a similar manner. Details of the intermediate guide members 36 and the mounting means therefor are shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 3, a roller 36a is mounted on the mounting plate 32 by means of a rivet 40 and a second roller 36b is mounted closely adjacent the roller 36a on a rivet 42. The rivets lie in the same horizontal plane so that the rollers engage at opposite points on the respective walls 22b and 22o of the glass run channel 22. By providing pairs of rollers engaging at opposite points on the opposite Walls there is no sliding engagement between the sash extension and the glass run channel, but pure rolling engagement is obtained since the adjacent but closely spaced rollers may rotate in opposite directions as the window moves. The rollers preferably are formed of nylon to assure quiet and easy operation without lubrication and to avoid metal to metal Contact between the glass run channel and the sash member extension.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, leaf springs 44 and 46 are mounted between the plate 32 and the base 22a of the glass run channel, the spring 44 having a detent portion 47 in slidable engagement with the base 22a of the channel and the spring 46 having a similar detent portion 48 in engagement with the base of the channel. Spring 44 is secured to the mounting plate 32 by a rivet 49 and spring 46 is similarly secured by a rivet 50.

In conventional present day construction, there are no roller guide means, and the entire glass run channel is lined with a pile fabric lining on which the sash member slides. ln the construction disclosed and claimed herein, this pile fabric lining has been eliminated except for a small section shown at 52 in Fig. 2 which is attached to theqglass run channel 22 adjacent the top thereof. This pile fabric portion preferably is only about V16 of an inch deep. The pile fabric lining improves the appear- -ance of the construction since itrpartially conceals the ,opening into which the window moves, .and zthe lining also prevents metal to metal engagement between the ,movement of the window in its guides despite the restricted space available for the window guide means.

While we have shown .and described one embodiment `of `our invention, it is capable of many modifications.

VCljlanges, therefore, in the `construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as-set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a window assembly having a movable window pane, apparatus `of the character described, including: a ixedly mounted ,glass run channel, a window sash member having an extension projecting into said channel; a planar mounting plate secured to the lextension of said sash member on the outer side thereof; and a plurality of `,guide rollers rotatably mounted on said mounting plate and engaging the walls of said glass run channel, the axes of rotation of the rollers being parallel to the plane of the window pane and each roller lying iiush against the mounting plate and being supported thereby against rocking movement.

2. In a window assembly having a movable window pane, apparatus of the character described, including: a lixedly mounted glass run channel; a window sash member having an extension projecting into said channel; a planar mounting plate secured to the extension of said sash member on the outer side thereof; and a plurality of guide rollers formed of material having a low coefficient of friction rotatably mounted on said mounting plate and engaging the walls of said glass run channel, the axes of rotation of the guide rollers being parallel to the plane of the window pane and each roller having a plane side lying flush against the mounting plate and being supported thereby against rocking movement.

3. In a window assembly having a movable window pane, apparatus of the character described, including: a lixedly mounted gl'ass run channel; a window sash member having an extension projecting into said channel; a planar mounting plate secured to the extension of said sash member on the outer side thereof; a plurality yof. guide rollers formed of material having a low coefficient of friction rotatably mounted on said mounting plate and engaging the walls of said glass run channel,

the axes of rotation of thevguide rollers being parallel to the plane of the window pane and each roller having a plane side lying flush against the mounting plate and being supported thereby against rocking movement; and a pile fabric lining attached to said glass run channel adjacent the top thereof for preventing direct engagement between said channel and said sash member.

4. In a window assembly having a movable window pane, apparatus of the character described, including; a xedly mounted glass run channel; a Window sash member having an extension projecting into said channel; a planar mounting plate secured to the extension of said sash member on the outer side thereof; a plurality of guide rollers formed of material having a low coefficient of friction rotatably mounted on said mounting plate and engaging the walls of said glass run channel, the axes of rotation of the guide rollers being parallel to the 4plane of the window pane and each roller having a plane side lying flush against the mounting plate and being supported thereby against rocking movement; a pile fabric lining attached to said glass run channel adjacent the Vtop thereof for preventing direct engagement between said channel and said sash member; and a leaf spring secured to said sash member and having a portion in slidable engagement with the base of said channel.

5. ln a window assembly having a movable Window pane, apparatus of the character described, including: a xedly mounted glass run channel; a Window sash member having an extension projecting into said channel; a planar mounting plate secured to the extension of said sash member on the outer side thereof; and a pair of guide rollers rotatably mounted side by side on said mounting plate, each roller engaging a wall of said glass run channel, the axes of rotation of the guide rollers being parallel to the plane of the window pane and each roller having a plane side lying flush against the mounting plate and being supported thereby against rocking movement.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,821,686 Avery Sept. l, 1931 1,928,056 Holt Sept. 26, 1933 1,997,865 Holt Apr. 16, 1935 2,024,772 Levan Dec. 17, 1935 2,283,002 Floraday May 12, 1942 2,654,114 Graber et al. Oct. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 18,351 Great Britain Sept. 30, 1893 13,669 Great Britain lune 18, 1903 

